File.



No. 769,772. PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

' G. B. SMITH.

FILE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26. 1903.

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N0 MODEL.

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WWI wows Snow dim C. B. Smith PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

C. B. SMITH.

FILE.

APPLICATION FILED 11116.26. 1903.

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c. B. Smith IINTTED STATES Patented September 13, 1904.

CHARLES B. SMITH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,772, dated. September 13, 1904. Application filed August 26, 1903. Serial No, 170,798. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Files, of which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates more particularly to a file for documents in which the papers are held between an abutment and a follower by the automatic gripping action of the follower upon a rod in the base-board of the file.

My invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the file shown and described in United States Letters Patent No. 542,266, granted July 9, 1895, to J. Lehnbeuter; and it consists in the novel arrangement and con struction of the parts, as will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth in the claim.

In the drawings, in which like characters of reference refer to similar parts and different views, Figure 1 is an isometric projection of a complete file embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the gripping device. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the file shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section on a line 4 1 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is an isometric projection of the gripping device.

' Referring first to Fig. 1, represents the base-board, 11 the front board, and 12 the follower of the file.

13 represents braces for rigidly securing the base and front boards together.

The base-board is provided with a slot 14, in which is placed a cylindrical rod 15. A notch 17 is cut in the lower edge of the front board 11. One end of the rod projects into this notch and is secured in place by a small staple 18, driven upward in the front board. A piece of wood 19 is then glued into the notch 17 to conceal the staple 18.

20 represents a small piece of angle-iron, secured by means of screws 21 to the end and the upper surface of the base-board 10 across the slot 14:. This angle-iron is provided at its inner edge with a downwardly-bent portion 23, which projects into the slot 14 and is provided with a perforation, into which one end of the rod 15 projects and abuts against the inner side of the vertical extension of the angle-iron 20.

25 and 26 are guides secured to the base and front boards and which pass through guideways 27 and 28, secured to the follower 12.

The follower 12 is provided with a gripping device adapted to cooperate with the rod 15 and hold the follower in place against the pressure of the documents secured between said follower 12 and the front board 11. This gripping device is composed of threeparts. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, it consists of a flat steel plate 30, suitably secured to the face of the follower 12. To the plate 30 is riveted a piece of bent steel 31, which is secured in position at its lower end by a rod 32, riveted into the pieces 30 and 31. The lower end of the piece 31 is provided with a notch 33, and the lower end of the piece 30 is provided with an oval perforation 34:, having its longest diameter perpendicular to the plane of the baseboard 10 when the gripping device is secured in position upon the follower, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4:. The rod 15 passes through the oval perforation 3 1, and the diameter of said rod 15 is substantiallythe same as the shorter diameter of the oval perforation 3 L,

so that the perforation 3 f fits snugly to the sides of the rod 15, allowing no lateral movement of the follower 12, which thus prevents binding of the guideways 27 and 28 upon the guides 25 and 26, at the same time allowing for vertical movement of the rod 15 in the perforation 34 for the purpose hereinafter pointed out. The notch 33 in the lower end of the piece 31 bears upon the upper surface of the rod 15. The parts are so proportioned that the follower 12 is inclined forwardly in the direction of the front board 11, as best shown by the dotted perpendicular line in Fig. 3.

In the operation of my device when a number of papers are placed between the front board 11 and the follower l2they tend to press harder at the upper portion of the follower 12 than at the lower portion. When the follower 12 is moved forward by pressure at its lower portion, the'force with which the documents inclosed press backward upon the upper portion of the follower is increased by reason of the fact that the follower is forwardly inclined, as above described. This pressure upon the upper portion of, the follower forces the notch 33 downward upon the upper surface of the rod l5and draws the plate 30 upwarduntilthe lower side of the oval opening 34 binds against the rod 15. This clutching action of the gripping device carried by the follower holds the follower rigidly against the pressure of the documents. When the follower is in this locked position, it is still, as above pointed out, forwardly inclined. The documents are released by forward pressure upon the upper portion of the follower. This causes the follower to move rearwardly and release the pressure upon the 1 documents inclosed.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

In a file, the combination with a base and front, of a rod in said base, a follower, a gripping device carried by said follower, said gripping device being composed of two strips of metal connected at or near their upper ends, and a brace separating said strips at their lower ends, one of said strips engaging the lower side of said rod and the other engaging the upper side thereof.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

. CHARLES B. SMITH. [L. s]

Witnesses:

SARAH E. BLAIR, DANIEL C. B'E'IJEMAN. 

